Page 62 of Ship of Smoke and Steel

She must have said something, because the next thing I know she’s peering at my face in concern.

“Isoka, can you hear me? Do you need to go to Sister Cadua?”

“I’m all right.” I can barely hear myself over the noise of the crowd. They’re all around me but hesitate to come too close, leaving me and Meroe in the middle of a small, empty space. “Are you…”

She nods. I notice for the first time that she’s leaning on me to stay up, her broken leg still splinted. Berun is standing at the edge of the circle, holding a leather-topped crutch.

“I think we need somewhere to sit down,” I tell her.

But where do we go now? I crane my head, looking for the officers’ platform and trying to find Zarun. The chairs are empty, except for the Jyashtani boy with the glasses, who’s watching the crowd with an amused expression. I spot the big warrior talking to some crew, but the others are lost in the mob. There’s no sign of the Butcher.

“Fresh meat no longer!” Someone steps into the circle. It’s Jack, tall and slim, wearing a fey grin. “Isoka Pack-Leader, now. Isoka Deepwalker. And beautiful Meroe, of course.” She bows. “Zarun has sent me to fetch you from this mess, if you require fetching.” She cocks her head. “Do you? Or would you rather bask in your glory a little longer?”

“I’ve basked plenty,” I tell her, and Meroe nods agreement. She reaches out to Berun, who hands over the crutch. I stay close behind her, ready to grab her if she falls, but she’s surprisingly adept.

Jack moves her hands like she’s parting a curtain, and the crowd opens up in front of her, the crew once again giving her a wide berth. She laughs delightedly and leads us down the narrow corridor.

“Make way!” she says. “Make way for the fearsome Deepwalker and Clever Jack!”

Outside the Ring, we reach clear streets and Jack directs us to the tower where I’d first awoken. I’m expecting to return to the chambers where I met Zarun, but we go in a different door, and then through a curtained doorway off a long corridor. It leads to a large, nearly empty room, with three more doorways at the back. A rickety wooden table and a pair of elaborately carved chairs are the only furnishings.

“Where are we?” I ask Jack, when she turns and spreads her arms in a grand gesture.

“Why, the quarters of the illustrious Pack Nine!” she says. “Only the best for the latest and most deadly of Zarun’s hunters.”

“Quarters here?” Berun says, from behind us. “In the Upper Stations?”

“As I said,” Jack said. “Zarun is a generous master.”

“I thought…,” Meroe says, looking at me.

“I’ll explain in a minute.” I look at Jack. “It’s done, then? Between Zarun and the Butcher?”

She nods. “Yes, I believe it is. My master can tell you more. I’ll go and find him, if you don’t mind. He asked to be summoned when you were comfortably ensconced.” She turns to Berun, then back to me. “I understand there is one more member of your merry company?”

“The Moron,” I say.

“Don’t call him that,” Meroe says.

I shrug, uncomfortably. “I don’t know his real name.”

“I’ll go get him,” Berun says. “There’s some things I want to pick up.”

“Well and good!” Jack practically skips to the door, taking Berun by the arm. “We shall all reunite anon.”

There’s a moment of silence after the two of them slip out.

“‘Anon’?” I shake my head. “Who talks like that?”

“She’s certainly … colorful.” Meroe carefully lowers herself into one of the chairs, leaning her crutch against the table. I take the other chair, gratefully. My side twinges, and I wince. She frowns. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“It hurts,” I say, with a shrug. “I’ll live. But what about you? I left you with Sister Cadua—”

“I think I woke up about a minute after you left,” Meroe says. “Sister Cadua wanted to keep me in bed, but Berun let slip that you were fighting someone, and I couldn’t just…” She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. “I had to see.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“Isoka, please. When I woke up I was honestly shocked I wasn’t dead.” Her voice goes quiet. “You dragged us out of the Deeps.”